PUBLISHED 6:04 AM ET Feb. 05, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:04 AM EST Feb. 05, 2021
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This week, a court ordered Gov. Andrew Cuomo s administration to release reams of additional data for nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It s being called a victory for open government and transparency surrounding a gut-wrenching aspect of the ongoing crisis. But it s also a victory for a soft-spoken journalist and health policy researcher behind the Freedom of Information Law request initially made in August.
The Empire Center s Bill Hammond was the driving force behind the right-leaning think tank s lawsuit to drag the data into the sunlight.
Hammond, a former columnist in Albany for The New York Daily News, is not a rhetorical bomb thrower, though he does maintain a dry wit on his Twitter account. Instead, he buries people with facts.
New York underreported COVID-19 nursing home deaths by as much as 50%, AG says
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ALBANY New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday released a searing report that found the state Department of Health underreported the deaths of nursing home residents related to the coronavirus by as much as 50 percent.
The 76-page report follows a months-long investigation by James office into allegations of patient neglect and other conduct that jeopardized the health and safety of residents and employees, including allegations that nursing homes failed to properly isolate residents who tested positive for COVID-19 and demanded sick employees continue to work or face retaliation or termination.
The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act was introduced in New York state senate Monday
The act would offer sex workers access to social services and extend legal protections to them, among other beneficial elements
The act would offer sex workers access to social servicwhile also closing loopholes used by johns
Buying sex, sex trafficking and brothel owning would continue to be illegal
Monday, January 18, 2021 - 9:16 am
With so many New Yorkers facing significant difficulties getting COVID-19 vaccination appointments and confusion running rampant, state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, called for a regrouping of the state’s vaccine distribution efforts.
“New York’s vaccine distribution process is disorderly, disjointed and in disarray,” Sen. Griffo said. “While it is important that we get as many shots in the arm as we can, it is time for the state to take a quick step back, reorganize and rethink its delivery procedures and get its act together. A more effective and efficient system must be readied and implemented with a priority on ensuring that our most vulnerable populations have access to the vaccine – not the free-for-all-format that we have witnessed so far that has disadvantaged the elderly.”
Friday, January 15, 2021 - 6:54 am
New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-I-C-Rome, released the following statement today regarding the state’s coronavirus vaccine distribution.
“The state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution process has created a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality amongst New Yorkers fighting to get a spot in line to be vaccinated. This Darwinian process is unacceptable,” said Griffo, whose State Senate district includes part of St. Lawrence County.
“A better distribution method needs to be implemented immediately, which is why I am requesting that the chairs of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees – Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried – hold hearings regarding the state’s rollout of the vaccine.